The goals of the Women’s Initiative, laid out in the ABAA committee statement, are “to support women book and manuscript sellers, create policies that promote gender equity in the trade, facilitate recruitment efforts aimed at women book and manuscript sellers, and expand diversity in the market by developing women as collectors and in collections.”

And our goal at Honey & Wax? Gender parity in the ABAA in our lifetime, and more independent women booksellers across the trade. Perhaps unrealistic, but we’re going to do what we can.

New York is the high spot of the American fair calendar, with more than 200 booksellers from around the world in attendance — including Honey & Wax in booth E9. On Sunday morning at 10 AM, before the fair opens, the ABAA Women’s Initiative is sponsoring a panel discussion at the armory on Collections and Women, which is free and open to the public.

And not least, we just announced this year’s Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize, and hope you’ll share the contest information with anyone who might be (or know) a likely winner!

Wishing you all a bookish start to spring, and hoping to see many of you tonight at the armory.

New Yorkers! Honey & Wax will be exhibiting at the Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair this weekend, September 8-10, and we hope you’ll come say hello. In just four years, the Brooklyn fair has grown into the largest regional book fair in the United States: over a hundred dealers are on their way from as far away as Chicago (to the west) and London (to the east), and all proceeds from Friday night’s preview benefit Rare Book School. On Saturday afternoon, Rebecca will be giving a talk on the ABCs of book collecting, and on Sunday, she’ll be discussing and signing her new book Printer’s Error.

Looking ahead, stay tuned for the announcement of the first winner of the annual Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize later this month. We’ve been overwhelmed by the number of submissions, and by how interesting the rising generation of American collectors promises to be. Reading these essays has been a highlight of our year.

We found ourselves a little sentimental about saying goodbye to Olympia (will we ever lift a pint at The Hand and Flower again? Or The Cumberland Arms?) — but we’re excited to see how the fair goes at its new home in Battersea next year.

We’re delighted to announce the Honey & Wax Book Collecting Prize, an annual award of $1000 for an outstanding book collection built by a young woman. Visit the website for complete prize details: applications are due July 15, and this year’s prize will be awarded in September. Please, if you know bookish women under 30 – and we know you do – spread the word!

And from July 16 to 21, Heather will be this year’s specialty dealer at the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar, now in its 40th year. A weeklong rare book boot camp in the shadow of Pikes Peak, CABS is a great opportunity for experienced and aspiring booksellers, librarians, and collectors to share their knowledge and love of the trade. Early registration closes May 29, and some scholarships for this summer are still available.

If there’s something that we should be seeking in London that you have not mentioned to us, now would be an ideal time. We’ll try to post photos from Olympia next week!

If you’re in the Philadelphia area tonight, come see Rebecca at The Rosenbach, where she’ll be talking about her new book, Printer’s Error. If you can’t make the event, check out the great short interview posted on The Rosenbach website.

Now that the California and New York fairs are behind us, we’re cataloguing new acquisitions every day, and hope you’ll stop by the website to see our latest booksas they arrive. And, as always, let us know how we can help with your ongoing bookish plans and pursuits.

Do you feel as though, just moments ago, you received an invitation to a book fair from Honey & Wax? That’s because you did.

This year, the California and New York antiquarian book fairs are separated by a mere four weeks: four weeks of compulsive list-making, energetic cataloguing, and free-floating anxiety. Preview our show list here, or just come by booth E17 at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair this weekend, March 9-12, and see for yourself.

West Coasters! And those with frequent flyer miles and a sense of adventure:

Please visit us at our California debut this weekend. Honey & Wax will be in booth 903 at the 50th California International Antiquarian Book Fair at the Oakland Marriott City Center, February 10-12. We’re bringing sixty of our favorite books, many not yet online, which you can preview here.

We’ve come all the way from Brooklyn, and there’s a blizzard there, so we can’t go back. Come say hello!